State should protect Medicaid for people in need

Washington state officials sound prepared and optimistic about the Medicaid wind-down that can happen now that a continuous-coverage requirement from the federal government has been lifted off Medicaid.

The requirement was put in place during COVID-19 times and thought to be temporary. As the public health emergency went on and on, however, federal and state governments remained on the hook for providing Medicaid coverage to people who, in many cases, were no longer eligible for the taxpayer-provided safety net.

Think about people you know who lost a job when the government and COVID-19 curtai...